Awaken Demons, ‘Here Comes the Hotstepper’ — Video Premiere

It's not that rare for moshcore bands to cover '90s hip-hop rump shaker anthems. In 2000, Throwdown put their breakdown-laden stamp on Sir Mix-a-Lot's 'Baby Got Back,' and to most metalhead's surprise, it wasn't laughable and it worked. Besides, who wants to hear another hard rock band cover Pantera's 'Walk' or Slayer's 'Reign in Blood' -- again? Don't get us wrong, we love those songs and there have been dozens of worthwhile covers, but it's always thrilling when a metal band leaps outside of the box and shuns expected, accepted parameters in favor of something fun without sacrificing one iota of power and groove.

Italy's Awaken Demons have taken on Ini Kamoze's dancehall-inspired 'Here Comes the Hotstepper' from 1994. And sure, on paper, you'll be scratching your head and thinking, "WTF?!?!" But once again, this re-do totally works and is a lot of fun when translated from rap to metal. Check out this exclusive, black and white performance video of Awaken Demons as they retool the song and make it their own in the live setting.

%VIRTUAL-globalVideoEmbed-{"videoIds":"517722140","width":"456","height":"346"}%


"Awaken Demons try to have as much fun as possible, whether it's on the road, hangin' with fans or in the studio," bassist Nic Lelli told Noisecreep. "We work hard, play hard and make songs for what we believe in! We wanted to record a cover song that most bands would never do, and we had a blast doing it. We enjoy playing it on tour because it has such a fun vibe, so we made a video to show what our live performance is all about. We think it came out awesome! Thanks to the Ghost Inside, as they were our recent tour buddies and made all these shows amazing."